Tunder: O_o Who's Storm?? I pity him, yikes, sharp dagger! O_O
Kai Hiwatari: My name is a secret that's only known to me, ha ha ha ha!!!! ^_^ Sorry, bit sugar high there. Tala's last name, some of my reviewers say it's Ivanov, but they've never actually said so anywhere officially.
White Whisper: O_O Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh *runs away screaming*
Ocean Breeze: Awww…that's so nice of you to say that! ^_^
Wandering Soul: With emphasis on the word 'SHOULD' (if my computer obeys, hmph!) You should be a new broadcaster, you can sound like one, even in writing!
Unicolyon * Gurl: Everyone loves Enrique!!! ^_^ Too bad there isn't much of Oliver in my story, I can't portray him that well.
Beyblader-grl: Enrique???!!! *shrieks with laughter* Sorry, I couldn't help it, I love him though, he's so cute! I don't know, I'm sticking with cyberized even though my dictionary says there's no such word. -_-
sessy's girl: Whoa, your laugh stretched out my whole review page, O_O I'm scared now. O_O
~*~Prodigious girl*~*: You want to be evil???? Hmm…that just gave me a funny idea…O_o But I get your point, I was just hit by a inspiration…
Reicu: ^_^ My stupid computer always screws things up for me, gosh! Ugh!!
bey-girl-nicky: Poor Ray, he's really popular, I like him in V-Force, cute outfit, esp those gloves of his!
Dreamer_gurl: That IS weird, cool you got an account!
whisper*2*imaginary: Lol, I like writing about Tala and Hru too, they clash but they go well together. ^_^
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Chapter 15: Fire Battle
Overnight, all of them recovered from their wounds, even Enrique and his broken arm. Cassandra woke up long enough to eat a few plates and then she recovered while she slept. Willow recovered fully as well, unaware that she was under Ray's constant care and attention.
"This place has some major healing powers," Carly remarked, happily grabbing Enrique's arm and spinning him around.
"Whoa," Enrique said dizzily, falling down on the couch.
"Here comes the Guardian of Dimensions," Holly said, "She'll going to answer our questions."
"I have a lot," Carly said eagerly.
"Breakfast!" Cassandra whooped, diving into the plates of food, "I feel better already!"
Hru sat down beside Carly, looking deep in thought, she couldn't get what Tala had told her the night before out of her mind. 'It's supposed to make me block all emotion and focus on destruction.' She shivered, she couldn't get those words out of her mind, //I wished I had asked him more...but I'm not sure I want to know more...what a horrible life to live...half machine and half human. Then what does that make him? Human or machine? What if something goes wrong with his brain or something and he goes haywire or something...?//
"Hey girl, you okay?" Carly asked in concern, "You're awfully quiet."
"Nothing," Hru said slowly, "I'm just thinking, that's all."
"Yeah right, nothing," Carly said in disbelief.
"Good morning," the Guardian said softly, "Please sit down, all of you and I will proceed to answer your questions and tell you some more things you require to know."
"I'll go first!" Carly hollered.
"Sit down!" Johnny snapped, pulling her down, "You're absolutely impossible, you know that? I don't know what to do with you!"
"I just wanna ask my long list of questions!" Carly said, pouting, "They might all burst outta me if I don't ask soon."
Johnny shook his head, trying to hide his smile, Carly was impossible, but her exaggerations were always a good laugh. //This girl is going to drive me crazy one day, but...//
"Go ahead Carly," the Guardian said, smiling.
"How about I'll just ask one question?" Carly said dryly, "Then we can go around and take turns just like we used to do in kindergarten. Do you like that Johnny, how about we have show-and-tell too?"
"Okay," Johnny said, "I get it, you're annoyed at me, sorry."
"Anyways," Carly said in a very business-like voice, "What I REALLY wanna know is why I get so weak around fire. I'm utterly USELESS!! I know it's my weakness and blah, but shouldn't I have some sort of resistance to it or something, or is it natural to collapse when so much a spark of flame is lit?"
"Actually Carly, you did quite well in the Fire Kingdom," the Guardian said sincerely, "To be honest with you, I didn't think you'd last more than an hour out there. But you did and you should be proud of yourself."
"I
don't feel proud," Carly muttered, "First of all I collapsed the first time and
Johnny had to CARRY me!!!
Honestly, I've never been carried by anyone in my whole life! Then my attacks melted right before my very
eyes!!!"
"I'm sorry that you were frustrated Carly," the Guardian apologized, "But I'm
working on developing a shield for each of you so it will block some of the
weakness you have, but I have yet to test it out."
Carly sulked, "Oh, all right, what's done is done, I suppose. But if ANY of you mention that I fainted to ANYONE or that Johnny carried me to ANYONE, you'll be sure that I'll make the rest of your life as miserable as I possibly can!"
Everyone else sweatdropped.
"My turn," Willow said, "I want to know why the Fire Scepter entranced Ray so much, it nearly cost him his life!"
The Guardian looked at Ray who was holding the Fire Scepter in his hands, "Ray? Is this so?"
"Yeah, I was looking at the scepter and suddenly I felt as if I must get it," Ray said, shuddering, "It was a horrible feeling actually, I felt like being controlled by it and that I had to get the scepter in order to go on."
"As you see, this is your destiny," the Guardian said, "It is your destiny to rule with the Fire Scepter so when you saw it, you were overwhelmed with the urge to possess it. You must learn to control your desires otherwise they will only harm you in the end. The scepter is not enchanted, it is you who must fight your urges and not let them take over you."
"Makes some sense," Holly said.
"Really?" Johnny snorted, "Explain to me then."
"You need to pay attention," Holly laughed, "It makes sense if you think about it."
"No it doesn't," Johnny retorted.
"Does too."
"Does not!"
"Does too."
"Does not!"
"Does too."
"Does not!"
"Does too."
"Does not!"
"Does too."
"Does not!"
"Does too."
"I give up," Johnny grumbled, "You win." Holly grinned and smirked at her friend.
"I've got a question," Tala spoke up, "What's the deal with that old guy in the Fire Sanctuary, the one that kept on bowing to Ray and calling him all these royal titles? Why didn't he bend down and polish Ray's shoes as well?"
Hru giggled and then straightened up and smirked at Tala.
"The Fire Mage is a wise elder," the Guardian said, "He has lived in the Fire Kingdom for a long time and he's over 2000 years-old."
"WHAT????!!!!" Carly yelled, "You expect me to believe that someone can live up to 2000 years? That's junk talk!"
"Believe me, he's 2139 years-old to be exact," the Guardian said, "He's been in the Fire Kingdom ever since the planet existed. He respects the ruler of the Fire Kingdom intensely and is a very loyal man. He guards the Sanctuary and keeps it running."
"Too weird," Enrique said, "Pretty freaky world."
"What about those 'things' that came out of the lava pits?" Kailee asked, shivering, "What were those things? They were gross and creepy!"
"Those are monsters, Lava Claws," the Guardian replied, "They inhabited the Fire Kingdom after the Fire Warlock took over. There are many different monsters out there, all of them came after the evil Warlocks took over the Kingdoms, you will meet many along your quest. Do not despair, for everything can be beaten."
"What do I now?" Ray asked quietly, "The Fire Kingdom is still dying."
"As ruler, you must restore it," the Guardian said, "Once you place the Fire Scepter in the Fire slot of the Rainbow Orb, the Fire Kingdom will be under your control. You have to work hard to rebuild the land, it's not impossible. The lands will replenish itself and the volcanoes have settled. Soon good inhabitants will return and they will help you. Together, with your people, you'll be able to build a strong kingdom."
"Sounds...difficult," Ray said slowly.
"You can do it Ray," Willow said, "We'll help you out, I know you can do!"
Ray smiled at her, his eyes sparkling, "Thanks...that means a lot to me."
Willow blushed, unsure of what to say anymore.
"What's the Rainbow Orb?" Holly asked.
"It's in the center of the Dream Realm and it's the generator that controls all the kingdoms and keeps the balance in tact. Come with me, I'll show you," the Guardian said.
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All 12 of them gather around a giant crystal orb with rainbow colors swirling inside. The chamber this orb was in was very peaceful and serene; the warm glow the Rainbow Orb gave off was soothing to everyone. There were twelve slots engraved in the orb with symbols beside each slot to indicate which was which.
"Ray, put the Fire Scepter into the Fire slot, there's no need for you to carry it around. It is very dangerous to do so," the Guardian said.
Ray stepped up on the stand and carefully slipped the Fire Scepter inside the right slot. Red light exploded from the scepter and filled the room.
"Something's happening!" Hru shouted over the noise.
From the Fire Scepter emerged a glowing white wispy figure. It was a man dressed in red cloaks with a crown on his head. He had piercing sharp eyes and a stern face.
"It's a spirit!" Hru whispered, "I can feel it."
"What do you mean you can 'feel' it?" Carly demanded.
"Believe me, from all the spirits of the monsters that I took in the Fire Kingdom, I came to recognize what spirits are," Hru murmured to her.
"Greetings young warriors," the spirit said, "Allow me to introduce myself, I am the ancient ruler of the Fire Kingdom. I ruled before the Chaotic Demon took over the galaxy and imprisonated me inside the Fire Scepter. Many thanks for releasing my troubled spirit."
"This guy is freaky," Carly whispered to Johnny and Enrique.
Johnny rolled his eyes in annoyance at her while Enrique covered his laughter.
"You mean to tell me that you ruled the Fire Kingdom before?" Ray asked, his eyes wide in surprise.
"That is correct Fire Warrior, I understand that it was you who freed me and it is your destiny to become the next ruler of the Fire Kingdom," the Fire spirit said, "However, you must pass a test before I allow you to rule over my kingdom."
"A test?" Ray gulped, "What kind of test?"
"Hey, wait a minute," Carly said, looking annoyed, "This is too kooky. Why does Ray have to do some sort of challenge when he already defeated the Fire Warlock? It's not like it's your land anymore, the Fire Warlock defeated you and took over your land, now Ray defeated the Fire Warlock, so he can take over, no questions asked."
"Carly!" Johnny hissed, "You have no clue how to talk to royalty! Tone down your attitude, would you please?"
"Carly, it's the way it works around here," the Guardian of Dimensions replied gently, "You must accept the traditional laws we've laid out millions of years ago."
"Hmph, kind of old-fashioned, aren't we?" Carly muttered.
"What does Ray have to do?" Willow asked nervously, praying that it wasn't a fighting challenge that would wound Ray badly.
"Beat me in a Beyblade match," the Fire spirit replied.
"Did he say Beyblade??????" Tala asked in surprise, "They know about Beyblades?"
"Beyblade is an ancient game in this galaxy," the Guardian answered, "Beybladers with Bit Beasts are especially honored and are considered leaders amongst the rest. This game was developed during the first years of the Elemental Galaxy and has been around for millenniums. But it is played differently on your world, here, if a blader loses his or her battle, their Bit Beast leaves their blade in search of a better blader."
"You're not serious," Kai said abruptly, "That can't be." He took out Dranzer, "I'm not going to risk losing Dranzer! This is insane!"
"I think that I'm going to take a shot at it," Ray said determinedly.
"Are you nuts?" Kai demanded, "This isn't a time to try and be a hero Ray, this is serious...not to mention seriously freaky! How do we know that the rules haven't changed or something? Or that you're not playing for each other's life or something?????"
"It's destiny, if I'm destined to rule, I will rule," Ray said firmly, taking out his launcher, "I'm ready!"
"Ray!" Willow gasped, "You're blading against an ancient Fire king! This could be dangerous, you don't know what tactic he'll be using or anything, it could be fatal or -"
"I'll be fine," Ray assured her, "Trust me."
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"So is his blade a spirit too?" Carly said dryly, "This is loony!"
"No, his blade is very real," the Guardian replied, "Let us begin."
"THREE....TWO...ONE...LET IT RIP!!!!!!!" Max yelled.
"Go Driger!" Ray pulled his ripcord and released his blade. The Fire spirit did the same, launching a red blade which lit on fire the minute it touched the dish.
"His blade is on fire!" Willow gasped, "How can that be????"
"I've never seen anything like this!" Kai said, staring at the dish.
The Fire spirit's blade was spinning at twice the speed of Ray's and it was twice as fast as well, not to mention that it was lighting the dish on fire.
"Driger!" Ray called, his tiger Bit Beast emerging from his blade, "Attack!!!" Ray's blade zoomed towards his opponents's blade, but the red blade dodged it easily and swerved around to slam into Driger. Ray clenched his launcher angrily in his hand, //This guy has no Bit Beast, it should be a snich for me, but he's driving me back and he's making me look like a total amateur!!! I can't stand this!!! There's a real fire power inside his blade and that's enough to rival the power of a Bit Beast!! I've gotta find a way around this...//
"Ray, do something!" Willow cried as the Fire blade pushed Driger further and further to the side of the dish, "He's going to knock you out!!"
//I know, I know...// Ray thought desperately, //But what can I do? I can't attack now, that'll leave my defenses too vulnerable!//
Ray's eyes followed his blade, "Driger, spin backwards! NOW!" Ray's blade spun back, losing it's contact with the Fire blade, making it wobble from losing it's balance. "Driger, Tiger Claw attack!!!!!" Ray's blade slammed into the Fire spirit's blade and tossed it in the air, "Oh yeah!"
"I wouldn't be so pleased if I were you," the Fire spirit said, "This match is far from over." His blade came spinning back down, nearly anchoring on top of Ray's.
Luckily for Driger, it wobbled out of the way just in time to avoid a fatal blow. Ray glared at the Fire spirit, "Grrr...this isn't working."
The Fire spirit met Ray's glare equally, "Your regular attacks aren't enough Fire Warrior. If you want to rule my kingdom, you have to do more than what is expected of you, you have to act beyond the requirements. It's not enough to just be average anymore, I want my kingdom to be ruled by an individual who is special. You have to believe in the powers inside you and believe in the Fire that rages in your heart, only then can you beat me."
"What the hell is he talking about?" Carly whispered to Enrique, "I'm dead confused."
"Beats me," Enrique shrugged, "I dunno."
"Ray..." Willow whispered, "You can do it, I know you can...please..." Her breath caught to her throat when Ray paused to glance at her, wanting the confirmation that he was up for this. Willow nodded slightly, hoping he got the message.
//I can do it...Willow believes in me...so I can believe in myself...// That seemed to give Ray the boost of confidence he needed, he turned back to the battle raging in the dish where Driger and the Fire blade were both wrestling for control and the upper hand. "ATTACK DRIGER, TIGER CLAW!!!!!!" Ray yelled, red light glowing around his body, flaring brightly enough to blind the onlookers. In a brilliant flash of piercing red light, Driger knocked the Fire Blade out of the dish. To everyone's shock, the Fire Blade dissolved into particles.
Even Ray was shocked, "I didn't - I didn't -"
"I did," the Fire spirit said, "After I lose to a true blader, my blade will disappear, it's completely normal. Well done Fire Warrior, I thank you with my heart. Rule the Fire Kingdom well my friend. My spirit is free..." With that the ancient ruler of the Fire Kingdom evaporated and vanished.
Willow hugged Ray tightly, "I knew you could do it!!!"
"But-but, what happened to the Fire spirit?" Ray asked, still shocked.
"If you hadn't defeated him, his spirit will still be meaninglessly roaming the galaxy, now he can rest in peace knowing that the Fire Kingdom is in good hands," the Guardian said, "Well done Ray, you have inherited the Fire Kingdom."
"I-I," Ray stammered, still bewildered.
"Now what?" Kai asked, frowning, "Do we head off to another world now?"
"MORE????" Kailee cried, "NO!!!!!!!!"
"I think it would be best if you returned to Earth for a couple of days," the Guardian said, "No time has passed since you left, so may continue your lives wherever you left it off at. I will call you back in a couple of days. So rest easy and speak of this to no one. We will continue when you return."
"That means there's still a great cherry pie waiting for me on the kitchen counter!!!!!" Cassandra whooped.
"What about our eggs?" Kailee asked, hugging hers lovingly, "Are they going to hatch soon?"
"Take them with you, some may hatch faster than others," the Guardian said, "Ray, we will take care of your kingdom when you return, now that news of the Fire Kingdom being freed is going around, inhabitants will return and you can address your subjects."
"Sure," Ray smiled at Willow, his eyes sparkling.
The Guardian raised her staff and struck the air, the 12 bladers disappeared from the Dream Realm to Earth.
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Sorry that this is late guys, my computer died on me and you know the story, I've told it at least a million times. Anyways, school's started (my classes are horrible) so if my computer does crash I can always get it up on the school computers. So keep on reviewing, with all my schoolwork I'll need lots of encouragement to keep me writing. *hint hint* ^_^ That Beybattle was horrible wasn't it? I can't write Beybattles, I think I might just cut it out, what do you guys think?
PS: If you like Beyblade, check out my site @ www.geocities.com/ice_archergirl/. Thanx!